Reinstating Traditions
by NativeStar
Summary: Spoilers for 4x01. An episode tag, set directly after the mission. To avoid any spoilers, I've put the summary at the start.


Mac's not okay, not really. But now that his family knows, they're not going to leave him alone any longer.

* * *

It turns out it takes a very long shower to get rid of sodium polyacrylate especially if you've literally been dunked in it head to toe. To be honest, Mac wasn't sure if it was actually still there or if it was just the memory of it on his skin that was making him stay so long in the shower.

He'd turned the temperature of the water up as hot as he could stand. Being coated in gel and suspended in mid-air had also sapped his body heat and it wasn't that long ago that he was shivering uncontrollably and being directed towards the back of an ambulance. He should probably drink something warm and eat a hot meal after this, but all he really wanted to do was relax with a bottle of beer. At least this time it would be in celebration. He smiled, he'd saved lives today. A lot of lives.

Today had been a good day.

He hadn't been able to say that much recently. And he hadn't had a lot of people around him to admit that to. Mac knew he was to blame. It had been too painful. He hadn't reached out. He knew his teammates were good people and if he'd called needing to talk they would have listened. He _knows_ this. But, it also wouldn't have been fair. They were getting on with their lives, living normal, _safe_ lives. The kind of lives that he used to protect at Phoenix. Maybe it wasn't the exciting, adrenaline fuelled lives of being a spy but if that was the cost of safety then maybe it was worth it. Mac knew he might have been living a 'normal' life on paper but with his history and his enemies, he would never be truly safe.

He liked teaching, he really did. But he'd come to realise it was something he only wanted to do once he couldn't do _this_ any longer. While he was still capable of running around and saving lives with his improvisations, that was what he wanted to do, more than anything.

Mac leaned forward and let the hot water run down his back. The water pressure in the shower was good and it relaxed him, easing the tension he carried there.

Things had felt more right today than they had for a long time. He wasn't waiting in limbo, unsure of where he stood and if he could ever return to his old job, or if he even wanted to without his friends. Reforming the Phoenix, even under Taylor's funding and his questionable motives, Mac had a direction now. He wasn't so… lost.

He knew he should get out of the shower, he'd lost track of how long he'd been in there. But he was also reluctant to leave, he knew his house was going to feel a lot more empty tonight. He'd missed the tradition of getting together around his fire pit to celebrate a successful mission. Or to remind themselves they weren't alone after a bad one. Or just because. Sometimes they hadn't needed a reason. He almost didn't want to leave the shower. After today, it was going to be harder to see the reality of his house as anything other than a sign he wasn't okay.

Mac wasn't an idiot and he wasn't in denial. He knew he wasn't dealing with things as well as he would have before. Before Charlie, before Jack, before his Dad, before a lot of things… but he was coping. He'd been holding down a respectable job, and sure his house was untidy but it wasn't an episode of hoarders thank you very much and yeah, maybe he was drinking more but it wasn't a problem neither.

But things would get better now. He had a purpose. He had his old job back. He had his team. He'd do better, he promised himself, he'd try harder.

He shut off the water and wrapped a towel around his hips to leave the bathroom.

And stopped suddenly.

There were voices, inside his house. Two; one male and one female.

He quickly looked around trying to find something more effective than random sports equipment to defend himself with this time when he recognised one of the voices. _Bozer._

Huh.

He was willing to bet the other voice was Riley. They'd obviously remembered his 'family don't knock' rule. He smiled. He hadn't realised how much he didn't want to be alone tonight until he'd heard them.

Their voices got louder as they stepped out onto the back decking and Mac could hear more clearly what they were saying. He moved to stand near his bed, where they couldn't see him, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"You know we probably didn't need to bring that beer with us, did you see the fridge?" Asked Bozer.

"Yeah, that's more than there used to be even with you living here as well." Riley said. "Maybe he's just done his shopping?" Mac could hear the doubt in her voice. He winced, there were downsides to your friends being super observant spies. He didn't have a drinking problem but even he could admit it didn't look good.

"Maybe. But there was hardly any food in there. It's a good job we stopped by the store on the way over, he's probably been living on takeouts and vending machines."

"I don't know, Boze. It's been a while, who knows, maybe he learnt how to cook." Riley suggested.

A pause.

"Yeah, okay, you're right." Riley said laughing. "I don't really think that either."

Mac smiled, she was right. Some things never changed, he still burnt more food than he cooked these days. He quickly pulled on some clothes and walked around to join them, grabbing a beer out of the fridge on the way.

"Mac!" Bozer said when he spotted him approaching.

Mac grinned at them both. "Hey guys."

"We thought it'd be good to catch up, celebrate a job well done, you know, like old times."

As long as it wasn't a mis-guided attempt at some kind of an intervention, Mac was more than happy to see them.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. I would have invited you over but-" Actually, Mac wasn't sure why he hadn't, he shrugged and used his shower as an excuse. "I was just in too much of a hurry to get home and get that stuff off me."

While he'd been in the shower they'd cleaned out the pit and got a fire started there. Seeing them sat there, an open bag of chips between them and enjoying a drink and each other's company after a successful mission, for a moment, Mac could pretend that nothing had gone wrong. He sat down next to Bozer.

"We ordered pizza and Desi should be here soon." Said Bozer, carefully watching Mac's face to see if Desi would be an issue. Mac didn't say anything. Desi was complicated, but she wasn't a problem.

"Matty said she'd be by later too, but she's got some stuff she wants to go over with Taylor first." Riley added.

"I think I'd like to be a fly-on-the-wall for that." Mac said. He could imagine it wouldn't be too dissimilar to the interrogations he'd witnessed Matty put suspects through.

"Me too, but Riley refused to hack the cameras."

"For the last time, I'm not spying on Matty, Boze." Riley said.

They spent a few minutes talking about their new boss. Mac filled them in on what he knew of the man already and Riley chipped in with what she had found from her searches of various databases. They all agreed they'd been burned too much to trust the man entirely but as Mac suggested it might be better to have the devil you know than whatever alphabet agencies had been pulling strings before.

The doorbell rang for the pizza and Mac went to collect it. But when he opened the door it was Desi standing there instead, holding a couple of pizza boxes.

"You're not the usual delivery guy." Mac joked.

"And you're still not funny." Desi said, with a smile that said otherwise. "I met him on your drive."

"Thanks, come on in," Mac said as he took the boxes off her. "Riley and Bozer are on the deck." He quickly added. He didn't want her to think she was here first, he doubted either of them were ready to be alone together, at least socially. "Do you want a beer?"

"Sure." She said as she walked out onto the deck. He grabbed two beers out of the fridge and followed her with the pizza. Mac didn't miss the look Bozer gave him when he opened his second bottle of beer so soon after he finished his first but chose to ignore it. He was drinking to relax, that was all.

For an hour it was like nothing had changed.

After that Desi left, she'd only stayed for the one beer but it was a start, Mac thought. And it was better than when she first joined the team and hadn't even stayed for one so maybe there was hope they could be friends again, like they had been before things had gotten… messy.

"So, what are your plans for the weekend?" Riley asked.

"Well, its been pointed out to me by _several_ people recently that I could do with tidying up the place. So, yeah, that should keep me busy." He looked back through the window to the lounge. "Really busy." He said, pulling a face.

"Yeah, I've never seen it like this before." Riley said, keeping her voice neutral but Mac could hear the gentle concern behind the statement.

He gave a self-conscious shrug. "It's been hard to stay focused recently, I keep starting things but not finishing them. Plus, I've been pretty busy at school, I haven't had a whole lot of time to clear up. I guess I just ignored it as it was only me here now." He took a sip of beer. "Not to mention, I didn't get a lot of warning that my home would used as a base of operations."

"Fair enough. Want any help?" She offered.

"Oh, uh, thanks, but I should be fine." Mac said, then paused. What would he have said a couple of years ago if Riley had offered to help? "But, uh, if you're not busy, then yeah, I'd appreciate the help."

She smiled.

"Six hands is easier than four." Bozer added his help. "And is it cool if I stay over in my old room tonight?" He waived his bottle. "I probably shouldn't drive. But only if I'm not going to open the door and find it stacked from floor to ceiling in 'projects'." He teased.

"No," Mac laughed. "You room's fine."

It was the one room left untouched by Mac, and he was pretty sure he could find some clean bedsheets somewhere too.

"Great. I'll even make my waffles in the morning."

"Damn, now I wanna stay too." Riley said.

"Your waffles are amazing, Boze. And you're both welcome here. Anytime." Mac said. "I know I've not done a good job at staying in touch but don't ever doubt your welcome. Either of you."

"_We've_ not done a good job at staying in touch." Riley corrected. "It goes both ways."

"But we can fix that now." Said Bozer. He raised his drink. "To staying in touch."

"Staying in touch." Mac and Riley said together, smiling and raising their drinks.

Yes, things were definitely getting better now.

* * *

I'll be honest, I haven't actually 'seen' the episode. I'm not in the US so this is based off clips, gif sets and every spoiler and review I could find. If I've got something wrong, please let me know. I thought about waiting for it to become available in my country but that would involve cutting myself off from fandom for who knows how long so this disjointed way of 'watching' will have to suffice.


End file.
